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words of note

ar.che.type: In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious. An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype.

art: Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty.

a.ware.ness: 1. The state of having knowledge or cognizance gained through one’s own perceptions or by means of information. 2. Vigilant; watchful. 3. Sensible, awake.

com.pla.cen.cy: 1. A feeling of contentment-to-a-fault or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy. 2. Unconcerned.

Con.sti.tu.tion: The fundamental laws and principles, proceeding from the basic nature of a person, ratified in 1789, that prescribe the nature, functions, and limits of the American government.

crit.i.cal think.ing: The act of reasoning, judging and rationalizing on the merits, faults, value or truth of a matter. [kritikos, able to discern. krites, judge. krinein, to separate, judge.]

em.pir.i.cal: 1. Relying on or derived from observation or experiment. 2. Verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment. 3. Guided by practical experience and not theory.

eu.gen.ics: The study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding.

ex.po.nen.tial: 1. increasingly rapid. 2. Of or relating to a number or symbol . . . denoting the power to which that number, symbol, or expression is to be raised. 3. Expressed in terms of a designated power of e , the base of natural logarithms.

hab.it: 1. A pattern of behavior established by continual repetition. 2. A behavior or practice so ingrained that it is often done without conscious thought. 3. A chosen pattern of individual behavior. [habitus; clothing, behavior, custom. havare, to have.]

her.i.tage: Something that is passed down from preceding generations; a tradition.

hy.poc.ri.sy: The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness. [hypocrisis, play-acting.]

i.den.ti.ty: 1. The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. 2. The quality or condition of being the same as something else. [idem, the same. identidem, repeatedly.]

im.mi.grant: One who enters and settles in a country or region to which that person is not native. [immigrat-, to go into. migrare, to depart.]

in.i.tia.tive: The power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task; enterprise and determination, without prompting or direction from others; on one’s own.

in.no.vate: To begin or introduce (something new) for or as if for the first time. [in-, intensive pref.; + novare, to make new. novus, new.]

lan.guage: Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. [langue, tongue.]

max.im: A succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth or rule of conduct.

mo.bil.i.ty: The quality or state of flowing freely; or the movement of people, as from one social group, class, or level to another.

nat.u.ral law: A law or body of laws that derives from nature and is believed to be binding upon human actions apart from or in conjunction with laws established by human authority. [see Constitution.]

nex.us: A means of connection; a link or tie. [nectare, to bind.]

non.ver.bal fact: Something demonstrated, without words, to exist; known to have existed. [factum, deed. facere, to do.]

par.a.digm: 1. One that serves as a pattern or model. 2. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline. [para-, alongside; + deigma, to show.]

par.ti.san: Biased in support of a party, group, or cause: partisan politics. [pars, a share, part.]

pat.ri.mo.ny: An inheritance or legacy from a father or other ancestor; heritage.

per.son: The composite of characteristics that make up an individual personality; the self.

per.so.na: The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one’s public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self.

pos.i.tive pol.i.tics: 1. Characterizing or displaying affirmation toward measured progress within the art and science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. 2. Characterizing or displaying a distancing from intrigue or maneuvering within a political unit or group in order to gain control or power. [polites, citizen. polis, city.]

pos.i.tiv.ism: 1. A doctrine contending that sense perceptions are the only admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought. 2. The system of Auguste Comte designed to supersede theology and metaphyhysics and depending on a hierarchy of the science, beginning with mathematics and culminating in sociology. 3. Any of several doctrines or viewpoints, often similar to Comte’s, that stress attention to actual practice over consideration of what is ideal: “Positivism became the ‘scientific’ base for authoritarian politics, especially in Mexico and Brazil” (Raymond Carr).

pri.mar.y source: 1. The point at which something springs into being or from which it derives or is obtained. 2. The point of origin, such as a spring, of a stream or river. 3. Being or existing as the first or earliest of a kind. [primus, first. sourdre, to rise.]

prop.a.gan.da: The systematic multiplication or breeding of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating a cause to a larger area or from one generation to another. [propagare, to propagate.]

re.gion.al: of or relating to a part of the earth characterized by distinctive animal or plant life; or to a form of a language that is distributed in identifiable geographic areas and differs in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary from the standard form; dialectal.

res.o.lu.tion: A determination or decision; a fixed purpose. [resolvere, to untie.]

san.i.ty: Soundness of mind, judgment or reason. [sanus, healthy.]

soul: 1. The animating and vital principle in humans, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion. 2. The spiritual natures of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state. 3. The disembodied spirits of dead humans. 4. Persons considered as perfect embodiments of an intangible quality.

spir.it: 1. The vital principle or animating force within living beings. 2. The soul, considered as departing from the body of a person at death. 3. The part of a human associated with the mind, will, and feelings. [spiritus, breath. spirare, to breathe.]

sprite: A soul. [spiritus, spirit.]

u.til.i.tar.i.an.ism: 1. The belief that the value of a thing or an action is determined by its utility, or usefulness. 2. The ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. 3. The belief which stresses usefulness over other values. [uti, to use.]